Secret Sunday 2

Do you want to know a secret?


Welcome to the fourth edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals.


Over 150 (!) artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented as a series of online and print projects. And the first continues right now!

Join the The Altered Page every Sunday for "Secret Sunday." Here the secrets of all your favorite artists will be revealed. It could be a technique, a product, a secret source, a little-known website, a hidden shop, an inspiration, just about anything! If you missed any, no worries. You can find links to all the secrets on the sidebar of my blog.

Today's secret.......supplies!
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Erin Perry
Website: Altered By The Sea
Blog: Altered By The Sea

Cheesecloth!! I love cheesecloth! Slather canvas or red rosin paper with gesso and then embed cheesecloth in it for the most marvelous texture. Use lots and let it hang off the sides. Use brigh colouted Portfolio water soluble oil pastels on it to create areas that POP off the painting.


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Ingrid Dijkers
Website: Ingrid Dijkers
Blog: Ingrid Dijkers

I get a lot of emails asking about how I go about my work, where I get my supplies and often they say that they would love to make books and journals but find the cost of materials and supplies very prohibitive. I share with them that I have found that for the type work I do that I don’t require expensive materials. Most all my books have been salvaged from library book sales, most costing under a dollar. My binder books are made from old school loose leaf binders, the pages out of cereal boxes from the recycling bin and a lot of my paints are just craft paints and left over household paint. A few supplies I don’t skimp on such as watercolor pencils and crayons, but for the most part I use what I have on hand.


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Jean Zoss
Blog: Bluebirds Living in the Meadow
Etsy: Bluebird Meadow

My art secret is supplies....I use cosmetic sponges on almost every piece. I love them for applying Stayzon inks, Lumiere paints and my favorite Golden acrylics. They also work well for applying glazes of medium without brush marks. When I studied watercolor, I spent a great deal of money on brushes, now I use the Royal brand children's brushes which can be purchased at Michael's. They stand up to the worst of brush abuse (leaving them in the water tank) and still come out ready to go. For about a buck a brush, they can not be beat. I also work with a dry brush in almost every step of my process so I need lots of brushes. I also get a thrill from finding things around the house like scraps of sandpaper, clothes pins and safety pins which become indispensable aids in the creation process. I also have a stainless steel palette knife I use quite a bit.
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Karin Bartimole
Blog: Beyond Words
You Tube: Karin Batimole: art & life

Not being the least bit secretive with what I find or learn makes it hard
for me to try to come up with something I haven't shared openly and repeatedly! I especially enjoy working with untraditional materials from places like hardware stores. Roofing felt is a fabulous paper to paint and draw on, for it's saturated black surface and strength; joint compound for creating textured surfaces to paint on; copper flashing for embossing. Explore your neighborhood hardware store with an artist's eye and you'll be sure to find inexpensive unexpected art materials.



This is the first book I ever made - and it's out of roofing felt (aka tar paper). It's versatility is clear - I also have used it in a line of jewelry, drawn on with colored pencils and sealed with varnish. It's survived an accidental wash through the laundry!
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Kim Palmer
Blogs:
Merlin's Musings
Pulp Redux

Umm, patience and determination, they usually solve anything and everything, LOL! ‘Weldbond’ glue from the hardware store. Its sets everything, fabrics, ceramics, metal, concrete, you name it, and it stays stuck! Dries clear, takes extremes of temperature and won’t get brittle, always a plus!


This adhesive was used to glue every item to the pages of this book construction. From the fabrics to the metal embellishments, papers, shells etc.
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Marilyn Gallas
Blog: Studio 274

It’s not really a secret, but it was a great discovery for me. I learned from D.J. Pettit that I can do a sketch in pencil and then apply a light skim of molding paste to prevent it from smudging when I paint on it. I can still see the image through the molding paste. Voila!!! Gesso would also work but the molding paste has a smoother finish.


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Lani Gerity Glanville
Website: Lani's Alternative Arts
Blog: Lani Puppetmaker's Blogspot

Bee's Wax, Citrisolve, & Baby wipes (not all at the same time - don't know what that would do)


Collage with citrisolve and baby wipes over top.
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JoAnna Pierotti
Blog: Moss Hill Studio
Etsy: Moss Hill Studio

Buy re-bar ties at a local hardware store for about $10.00 (you get a 1000 in the roll) - throw them outside in the winter and let them rust. A damp place is the best and will rust rather quickly. They make great hangers for your art projects. Easy to hook together to make larger hangers.


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Nelda Ream
Blog: Nelda Ream

One of my favorite materials to use in making art journals is cereal boxes. All it takes is a coat of gesso on both sides of this recycled cardboard to turn it into a great substrate. Then, it is ready for all your collage and acrylic painting techniques.
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Marie Dante
Cinnamon Studio

I have just discovered Min Wax polyshade stain and polyurethane as a terrific way to preserve and restore vintage paper and book jackets, (or any paper for that matter). I have the pecan stain and have used it on a ton of paper college materials. It drys fast and leaves a clean/flat satin sheen. It also adds a bit of color and further aged appearance to paper. I have some very old (1800's) newsprint that I have "Min Waxed" with good results, but some of the paper is so very fragile that it becomes translucent & the other side of the paper shows through. I like this effect. This product is probably not for "properly" archiving vintage ephemera but I have used it for my college purposes & am very satisfied. I found it at Home Depot.


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